Spring is here!  This month has brought a dramatic change – from ice storms to green leaves and spring flowers.

This was the way the month started.

 

 

Poor bluebirds – hard to get to their front door.

 

But they survived the cold snap, and now most of the nest boxes are occupied.

 

The crocuses bloomed near the old farmhouse.  I often miss them because they bloom so early – this photo was taken on March 31.

 

Folks around here call Pasqueflowers, crocuses.  It’s easy to see the similarities – similar blooming times, color, and flower shape – even though they’re not closely related.  Garden crocuses are in the Iris family, and were originally from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.   Pasqueflowers are in the Buttercup family.  The ones we have here are native to North America, but there’s a European Pasqueflower species that’s often planted in gardens.

We’ve found 4 clumps of Pasqueflower blooms this year.  This one had the most flowers.

 

A single Pasqueflower

 

The first Garter Snake of the year – on April 5.

 

Migrating birds are arriving – more every day.

Yellow-rumped Warbler bathing in the stream in the Glen

 

Swamp Sparrow – they prefer hunting for insects in the stream.

 

A nuthatch (year around resident) building a nest.

 

The beavers have been busy in the creek – upstream from our driveway.  This is a dam that’s been here for several years – it had a huge lake behind it last year, but this year the lake level is much lower.

 

A view of the lake looking downstream.  I think the big pile of sticks must be their food supply.

 

Here’s their newest dam – upstream from the original lake.  It’s formed a big new lake, with lots of small side streams feeding down into the creek.  We had a very wet walk!

 

Another view of the creek between the big dams showing a small dam.  We found the two large dams, and 3 smaller dams below the new lake.

 

We found a small island made of grass with one Marsh Marigold.

 

Sedge meadow – another part of the wetland with sedges (probably Carex stricta) just poking up out of their mounds of dead leaves.

 

Walking in the sedge meadows is an adventure.  The sedge mounds get taller every year, and the spaces between them are wet and muddy – sometimes with Marsh Marigolds.

 

Marsh Marigolds

 

I haven’t found Dutchman’s Breeches growing here naturally, but they do grow nearby.  I planted some here a few years ago on a cool, shady hillside, and they’re thriving.

 

Hoary Puccoon on a bluff prairie

 

An unusual Serviceberry – I’m not sure which species.

 

Wild Plums have a wonderful fragrance.  We get enveloped by clouds of scent as we take our walks.

 

Prairie Smoke

 

Bloodroot – we had a patch growing near the driveway that we thought had been killed by the spraying the road crew did last year, but some of the plants survived and even bloomed.

 

Pussytoes

 

Cuckoo Bee on Pussytoes blossom

 

Northern White Violet – a very early blooming species that’s common on many of our wooded hillsides

 

Prairie Blue-eyed Grass

 

Sweetgrass – one of the earliest blooming grasses

 

Devil’s Urn – a springtime fungus

 

American Lady – searching for Pussytoes to lay her eggs

 

Ruffed Grouse

 

Rue Anemone

 

Bird’s Foot Violet

 

Wood Anemone

 

A Red-headed Woodpecker has been visiting our feeders!  It’s reluctant to have its picture taken, so this is the only photo we have so far.    We’re hoping it will stay around.

 

We’re in the middle of a ‘discussion’ with the beavers about a new dam they’d like to build.  Their preferred spot is across the upstream entrance to the culvert that goes under our driveway.

 

We know from experience that a dam there will eventually wash out our driveway.  (We’ve looked into ‘beaver deceivers’ and other tricks, but none of them will work here.)  So every night the beavers build, and every day we pull the sticks out and float them downstream to a spot where they’ve had a dam in the past.    We were hoping they’d get the hint….

 

We’d been doing that for about a week when we discovered that the beavers have just been retrieving the same sticks from the pile we’ve been making, and dragging them up to build above the culvert again.  They’ve made a path along the edge of the creek to get around the rapids.

 

Here’s the place where they get back in the creek to float the sticks through the culvert to their dam.

It’s become an endless loop – keeping us all very busy.  Yesterday we took our stick pile apart and pulled it farther downstream.  So far they haven’t rebuilt – we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

 

Spring leaf colors

 

More springtime leaves

 

Willow Bend

 

Pine Point Bluff